Star Wars games have been around for many years, with every one of them being unique from the other.
The genres of the franchise’s games have ranged from real time strategy with Empire at War, first-person shooter with the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series and Republic Commando and even role-playing games such as the fan favorite Knights of the Old Republic games.
Of course, considering it is a sci-fi series where events take place in space as well, Star Wars games have also visited the space combat game genre numerous times, with games such as the Rogue Squadron series and the Starfighter series.
On October 2nd, a new addition to the space combat family was added when Star Wars: Squadrons was released.
With the technology that video games are run on today, Squadrons is one of the best games which simulates space combat accurately to that of the franchise’s media.
The story of the game takes place after the events of Return of the Jedi, the Galactic Empire is in disarray after the battle of Endor, where Sith Lords and Imperial Leaders Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader met their end.
The Rebel Alliance, along with the formation of the New Republic, help to fight off Imperial Remnants and help rebuild societies formerly corrupted by the Empire.
Lindon Javes, former captain of the Imperial Navy turned Rebel, leads the Vanguard Squadron, one of the Rebel Alliances most elite X-Wing Squadrons.
Javis, along with Vanguard Squadron, are tasked with supporting Project Starhawk, a secret weapon that will help the New Republic.
Meanwhile, Javis’s former fellow TIE Pilot, Captain Terisa Kerill, wants revenge for the former Imperial Captains betrayal.
Kerill leads her own elite TIE fighter squadron, known as Titan Squadron, to fight against the Rebel’s and Javis’s squadron.
Throughout the campaign, players play chapters from the perspectives of the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire.
Before playing the game, players can customize their pilots for both sides, giving them names and unique looks and voice lines which offer different personalities, these customizable characters can be changed at any time at the player’s choice.
Players also have options for a wide variety of starships to play as such as the TIE Fighters, X-Wings, Y-Wings and TIE Advanced, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Players are also able to customize their ships with different cosmetic options in addition to having different customizations for weapons and other ship functions, all of which can be unlocked while playing the game.
Squadrons is the space combat game that so far has the deepest customization compared to any previous starfighter game.
Players can use modifications to make their fighters faster, stronger and deal more damage, along with a variety of other modifications to improve the fighter.
These modifications and upgrades can also be used in the games multiplayer.
Multiplayer has two different modes, dogfight and fleet battles.
Dogfight is a team deathmatch style mode where the two teams are put against each other, the team with the highest score wins.
Fleet battles are objective based and are focused on destroying the enemies flagships.
The multiplayer mode is also the best mode to play with friends who also have the game.
Star Wars: Squadrons may as well be considered as a spiritual successor to the space combat games of the series such as the Rogue Squadron and Starfighter series in addition to the space flight simulator games X-Wing and TIE Fighter.
Although the story is short, it is sure to deliver a unique adventure to fans of the franchise in addition to having a well made multiplayer.
The game also has VR support for the PS4 and PC versions of the games with the use of the PSVR headset and any VR headset used for PC in addition to having flight stick support, so players can live the dream of being in the cockpit of a TIE Fighter.
Although the Xbox One version does not have any sort of VR support, at least at the moment, a flight stick can still be used and the game will also be playable on the upcoming Xbox Series X.
Whether one is a fan of Star Wars games, space combat games or dogfighting games, Star Wars: Squadrons is a game that delivers the best way of simulating space combat for all the sci-fi nerds out there.
